Home
by CanuckDaysfan
Summary: Sami is about to marry EJ when fate, helped by her firstborn son, plays its usual trick on her.  A one shot ficlet for fans of Lumi.


**Home**

Will felt the quick vibration of his phone in his pocket. Ignoring the glare from his mother who was standing in front of the judge with EJ, he pulled it out and read the message from Gabi.

_I told Rafe. He says to stall. He's on the way._

Will briefly considered his options. He could stand up and cause a scene, but somehow doubted it would buy enough time. No, he needed a more jarring interruption. Something that would catch the "happy couple" totally off guard. His thumbs moved swiftly as he composed his message.

_Dad need u 2 call mom asap. It's an emergency!___

_What's wrong? Is it Allie?___

_No. Allie's fine 4 now, but Mom's getting married. Need to stop wedding NOW.___

_I can't do that to her Will. I promised her I wouldn't interfere with any more of her weddings.___

_Do you want me & Allie to have EJ as a stepdad?___

_EJ? Hell No!___

_Then DO SOMETHING!___

_Well what can I do from here?___

_CALL HER! Please Dad._

Lucas sighed as he read his son's final message. When he was home for his grandmother's funeral two months earlier, he'd promised Sami that when it came to her love life, he'd keep his opinions to himself from now on. Of course at the time, he'd assumed that she'd eventually be back with Rafe or find someone completely new. EJ was a different story. Sami was an adult, capable of making her own decisions, but there was no way in hell that he'd ever allow his daughter to have her mother's rapist as her stepfather.

He picked up his Blackberry™ and pressed down on the letter 'Q'. As he waited for the call to connect Sami's sparkling blue eyes and innocent yet mischievous 16 year old smile stared back at him. If only he'd realized so many years ago what she would come to mean to him, he could have made their lives a lot less complicated…

Sami took a deep breath and forced a smile as she listened to Judge Fitzpatrick. She couldn't believe that she'd made it through the ceremony without an interruption. It seemed… odd and more than a little disconcerting.

"Thank you, Elvis. Thank you, Samantha. And now, by the power vested in me, I hereby pronounce you—"

_"Isn't it funny how the roads just pass us by__  
><em>_Isn't it crazy how we never get it right"_

Sami was both startled and relieved by the music.

"Daddy!" Allie cried excitedly as she hopped off Kate's lap and ran to grab her mother's iphone™ which was sitting on a nearby table.

_"Time is wasted on money and money wasted on lust.__  
><em>_Treat her like a lady and she'll never get enough"_

"Mommy. It's Daddy." Allie grinned as she held the phone out to Sami. She giggled "And he's wearing only a towel. Silly Daddy."

Will smirked, thankful he'd downloaded that new app a few days earlier. It was meant for playing practical jokes on his friends – giving him to the ability to remotely switch their profile pics around. He never imagined he'd be using it to sabotage his mother's latest wedding attempt.

_"Cause' it's you that I'm runnin' to baby__  
><em>_It's you that I'm feelin' for lately and__  
><em>_It's like a pain that never goes away__  
><em>_And it always starts today"_

EJ's eyes narrowed as he snatched the phone from Allie's outstretched hand and held it up for Sami to see. "What the bloody hell is this?"

"That's my daddy." Allie stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes I realize that sweetheart." EJ said to Allie before turning back to Sami's flushed face. "But why on earth is he wearing nothing but a towel?"

The redness on Sami's cheeks deepened. She stumbled to find the words to explain. "I have no idea—"

_"Cause you are home to me, Cause you are home to me__  
><em>_Cause you are home to me, Cause you are home to me"_

"Is somebody going to answer that?" Will chirped happily. "Or are you just going to ogle Dad's half-naked bod all day?"

"Will!" Kate admonished.

Flustered, Sami finally grabbed the phone. "Why are you calling now?" She snapped into the phone, then paused as she realized how ridiculous that sounded. It wasn't as if Lucas was calling to interrupt yet another of her weddings. He couldn't have known about this one. Hell, _she_ hadn't even known until she'd made the decision to go ahead with the ceremony the night before. "I mean, hi Lucas. It's not a really good time for me or Allie to talk. Can we call you back?"

"Don't you dare hang up on me Sami."

"What do you want Lucas?"

"I want to know what the hell you're doing marrying the bastard who raped you? The same bastard who shot your stepfather and gassed your aunt and uncle. The same bastard who tried to rip your unborn twins from your womb. The very same bastard who in all likelyhood locked me in that freezer truck and left me to die."

"But he's changed." Sami cringed at the whine in her voice. Not even she was convinced by her sincerity. When had she become so pathetically weak?

"Samantha." EJ complained. "Would you please put down that phone? I'd like to get married today."

_"Don't do it Sami!" _

"Hang up the phone Samantha." EJ reached for it but was intercepted by Allie.

"NO!" She shouted as she snatched the phone from her mother's hands. "That's my daddy and _you _can't have him!" She glared up at EJ she cradled the iphone™ in her hands.

EJ made a final attempt to grab the phone back from her, but was stopped by Will who quickly stepped in to protect his little sister. "Oh no you don't."

"Samantha." EJ nagged. "Are you going to just stand there and let these children blatantly disobey me?"

Sami's eyes narrowed. She didn't like the tone EJ was taking with her children one little bit. She might be willing to let things slide when it came to how people treated her, but nobody treated her kids like that and lived. "If Allie wants to hold my phone, she can hold my phone."

EJ grumbled. "It's not the phone that's the problem Samantha. It's who's on the other end. Make her hang up."

"NO!" Allie stomped her foot down. "I'm not letting you hang up on Daddy!"

Sami shrugged. "You heard her. She's not hanging up on Lucas and I'm not going to make her."

EJ was barely managing to hold onto his temper. "Why is that Samantha? Is it because you're still hung up on him yourself?"

"What? Of course not!" Sami answered, a little too quickly, a detail that was lost on no one in attendance.

"Explain that photo then?"

"What photo?"

"The half-naked photo of your ex that pops up whenever he calls, and since I know he must call Allie daily, that means you're seeing that image _every single time."_

Sami shook her head. "I have no idea how that picture ended up coming up when Luc as calls. Up until today I always used a picture of him holding Allie as a baby." She turned to Will, who'd remained quiet after sticking up for his little sister. "But I bet _you_ know how it got there."

Will smirked the same smirk Sami had seen on Lucas' face for the better part of the past two decades. "Okay, I admit to switching the photo, but I simply replaced it with one that was already saved on your phone. _You_ can explain to EJ why you carry around a phone filled with half-naked pictures of your ex-husband."

Sami bit her lip, knowing that her cheeks were now likely the same shade of red as her lipstick.

"Oh and EJ, you might want to ask her about the ringtone too."

"Samantha?"

Sami tried to act nonchalant. "What? It's just a song that I like."

Will scoffed. "Yeah, you like it alright, but not just because it's a catchy tune." He turned to meet EJ's questioning gaze. "It's Josh Kelley's _You Are Home To Me_. Mom and Dad taught me how to slow dance to it years ago." He chuckled at the memory. "Well actually, they didn't really teach me to dance that night. I saw the sparks flying between them and high-tailed it to my room to give them privacy. They fell in love to that song."

"Oh did they? That's funny Sami. I asked you about that song and you denied that it had any special meeting. Don't you remember?"

A collective gasp rang out as Rafe Hernandez entered the room.

"Rafe!" Sami felt mixed emotions upon seeing him. On one hand, she was furious about what she'd witnessed him doing with Nicole the night before, but on the other, she was ecstatic that she was being given another potential out from the situation she'd somehow found herself in with EJ.

Rafe pressed. "Aren't you going to answer me Sami?"

"About what?"

"The song Sami. Does that song have special meaning for you and your ex-husband Lucas?"

Sami bit her lip. Sure, she could lie, again, but would it really accomplish anything? She'd spent the last year and a half trying to deny the fact that she still loved Lucas. She had turned her life into a miserable mess.

She nodded. "It was our song."

"Still is." Will corrected.

Sami shook her head. "No Will, it's over. You know that."

"I don't think it is Mom, and from the looks of it, neither do EJ and Rafe."

"Well maybe it's not over for me, yet, but I know it's over as far as your father is concerned."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Will had spent enough time talking to his father in the past year to know that whatever anger had existed between his parents had long since faded. Given a fair chance to be together in peace, he had no doubt that they'd reconcile in no time. The only hurdle was the "together in peace" part. Salem was often anything but peaceful, and getting them together was next to impossible now that Lucas lived on the other side of the world.

Sami shook her head firmly. "No Will. This isn't the time." She turned to Rafe. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you'd be off boinking that skank Nicole."

Rafe bristled at the accusation. "I take it that you saw us?"

Sami nodded.

"No wonder you were in such a hurry to marry this jerk then."

"Don't you dare start in on me!" Sami said defensively.

"Sami, I don't want to fight."

"Well then, you should have thought of that before you slept with my mortal enemy last night."

"Nothing happened!"

"Liar! I saw you two going at it!"

Rafe had had enough. He'd come to the wedding with two goals: Exposing EJ as Sydney's kidnapper and winning back Sami's heart. He had enough evidence to accomplish the first goal without a problem, but after hearing about Sami's lingering feelings for her ex-husband, now realized that the second might not ever be obtainable. How was one supposed to win a prize that wasn't even up for grabs? "No. You didn't."

"But—"

Roman finally chose to chime in. "Let him explain Sami."

"Fine. Explain. But make it quick."

Rafe looked at the small group of people in the room and focused on the twins. He caught Lexie's eye. "Would you mind taking the twins upstairs? They don't need to be here for this."

"Sure." Lexie smiled and held out her hand. "Johnny, Allie, come on, let's go check on your sister Sydney." Johnny grinned and slid down from Stefano's lap. Allie, who was still standing near Will handed him the phone that she'd been clutching the whole time before running off to join her twin. Will smiled slightly as he noticed that the phone was still connected. No doubt his father, listening on the other end, had heard everything –_everything._

SLAP! The sound reverberated through the room as Sami's fist connected with EJ's jaw. "YOU BASTARD! YOU GOD-DAMNED SON OF A BITCH!" She lunged towards him, prompting Will and Rafe to grab her just in time.

"Mom!"

"Sami!" Rafe attempted to sooth her. "It's not worth it. _He's_ not worth it. Let the police handle it now."

Roman stepped in between his outraged daughter and her longtime tormenter. "EJ DiMera, you are under arrest for the kidnapping of Sydney DiMera. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?"

EJ opened his mouth to protest, but seeing the look in Sami's eyes, thought better of it. "I do."

Roman was practically giddy as he placed the handcuffs he'd used on his daughter earlier, on the man who would now, thankfully, never become his son-in-law. "I'm sure that's not the 'I do' you were hoping to say, but I have to admit, you've made me one happy father today. Let's go." He nodded at Stefano. "You coming with us?"

"Of course."

"Me too." Kate added as she followed her husband out of the room.

Will carefully set Sami's phone down on the table. "I'm going to go check on the twins and Sydney."

Sami nodded and waited until he'd closed the door before turning to Rafe. "I guess I owe you an apology."

"For what?"

"For doubting you. You tried to tell me that EJ is scum and I didn't believe any of it."

"Sami, he tortured you for years. If anybody owes anyone an apology, it should be me, the FBI and the police. EJ should have been locked up a long, long time ago."

"I let that bastard into my life. I let him trick me and torture me. I allowed him to get away with hurting the people I love. For God's sakes, I even let him break up my marriage! But no more. I am done being his victim."

"I'm happy to hear that."

"So where does that leave us?"

Rafe smiled sadly. "Sami, as much as I love you, and I do, I think you and I both know there is no 'us' anymore. I don't think there ever really was, at least not in the way I would like."

"But I love you Rafe."

"I wish you did Sami, and I think you tried. But I think we both know that your heart already belongs to someone else. It's time that you stop fighting it and go home."

Sami frowned, confused. "But this is my home, or at least it has been for the past few months."

"The song Sami, the song." Rafe explained, pulling her into a hug. "Go home Sami." He whispered into her ear. "And be happy."

Sami half-collapsed onto a chair as she watched him walk away. She was in shock from everything that had been revealed, her mind racing a million miles a minute as it tried to process all the information it had received. She glanced around the room, recoiling at the DiMera style of luxury that up until an hour ago she had found appealing. Now it just seemed overbearing and claustrophobic. She was possessed by the sudden need to get as far away from all things DiMera as possible; all except for her children of course. Nothing would ever make her regret her children, even if two of them happened to have a father that she now wished dead.

It was the thought of her children that gave her the strength to stand up. She needed to find them a new place to stay because hell would freeze over before she'd spend another night in the mansion. "Time to call the pub and warn them we're coming." She glanced around and spotted her phone where Will had left it, on the table. As she picked it up she realized with a start that it was still on, still connected, presumably with Lucas in Hong Kong. "Lucas?" She asked tentatively.

"Sami." Her name came out as a breath.

"You heard it all, didn't you?"

"Most of it. EJ's lucky I'm halfway around the world right now."

"I wish _I_ was halfway around the world right now." Sami said wistfully.

"You are to me too Sami."

"What?"

"Home."

Sami's heart leapt with excitement.

"Come be halfway around the world with me Sami. Bring the babies and come home."

"But how—"

"I've already emailed Philip. The Kiriakis jet is fueling as we speak and the limo should be there within 5 minutes."

"But what about Sydney? She's been running a fever. I can't take her on a plane."

"Will texted me about that. It's okay. Philip is sending along a private nurse."

"You thought of everything. Oh wait, we can't leave right now, we're not even packed."

"Already done." Will announced as he walked into the room carrying Sydney, the twins trailing behind him. "I packed their clothes and had Mary pack some of yours. The twins packed their favorite toys and picked out Sydney's favorites too. You're all set."

"What about you Will? Aren't you coming too?"

Will shook his head. School starts next week Mom. "But don't worry, I'll visit at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just promise me that you'll let Dad do the cooking."

Sami chuckled. "But where are you going to stay? I don't want you living in this mausoleum."

"The pub. Grandma Caroline says I can stay there."

"Okay, so you've thought of everything."

Will flashed a grin. "I have. So now all that's left is to get you and these rug-rats to the airport. Come on. Let's go."

Sami followed behind him, taking one last look around the house of lies that had imprisoned her soul for the past few years. Her heart felt lighter with the knowledge that she'd never again have dwell here and that her real home was just a day's journey away.

___The next day_

"Johnny! Allie! Don't run! Stay where I can see you!" Sami shouted to the twins as they raced down the airport concourse. She couldn't blame them for wanting to stretch their legs. It had been a long flight, and even though the Kiriakis plane had every amenity available, it was nice to be back on solid ground. She shifted a fussing Sydney slightly as she dug through her purse for their passports. One more checkpoint to get through and then they'd be seeing Lucas, finally. And hopefully once they got to his place, correction, _home_, her youngest child would settle down. Sydney's fever seemed to be gone, but as always, the child didn't seem overly pleased to be with Sami. Sami's only solace was that Sydney had never seemed very pleased to be with EJ either, so at least she wouldn't be missing him. Sami was still debating what she was going to tell Johnny, but figured she'd wait until he asked about his father. She had no such worries about Allie. After being told that she was on her way to Hong Kong the normally quiet little girl had only stopped talking to sleep. She was excited to see Lucas and Sami couldn't blame her. She was excited and a little nervous too.

"Daddy!" Allie shrieked as the doors opened and they were allowed out of Customs and Immigration. The noise startled Sydney who immediately started crying. Sami did her best to comfort her youngest daughter as she watched Lucas engulf the twins in a giant hug.

"Want me to try holding her?" Lucas suggested after he'd set down the twins.

Sami sighed. "You can certainly try, but she doesn't seem to like anyone holding her. She was teething through the whole flight and barely slept. I think she's overtired."

"Shhh." Lucas soothed as he took the whimpering toddler in his arms. "It's okay Sydney. I've got you now. Everything is going to be okay. There's nothing to be afraid of."

To Sami's amazement Sydney almost immediately burrowed her head against Lucas' neck and stopped crying. Within a minute she was sound asleep. "Wow, you've got the magic touch General. No one's ever been able to make her stop crying that easily."

Lucas winked. "Like mother, like daughter."

Sami laughed.

"So…"

"So…"

They looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before Lucas reached out his hand. "Ready to go home Sami Brady?"

She placed her hand in his, and her eyes sparkled as she replied. "I'm already there Lucas Horton. I'm home."


End file.
